Constancy
by trufflemores
Summary: Soliloquy-style summer ficlet. Kurt-centric. Kurt ruminates on the finer points of summer nights and finds that the best part has nothing to do with the season. Klaine. COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee or any of its characters; Ryan Murphy and Co. hold that honor. I'm simply writing this for fun, not profit.

Maybe the summer would last forever if Kurt refused to fall asleep.

It was already dark overhead, but the city before him was bright. Kurt watched the traffic mill idly in the streets below from his vantage point on the fire escape, wondering how he'd managed to snag the life that he'd ached to live for years. New York had always been his goal, but it was still a shock to him that he was _there_. To actually live in the city of his dreams was indescribably heady; Kurt felt like the better half of him had finally been reunited with his sheltered Ohio soul the moment he set foot in the city, infusing the world with color for the first time.

He'd waited for it for so long, and every day brought its own new enigmas and challenges and joys, and he loved every minute of it.

Mostly, though, he loved these moments when his own disingenuousness was supplemented by Blaine's presence. Setting up one of the lounge chairs on the fire escape had been a challenge, but with a cup of coffee to warm his fingers and a blanket cast idly over his lap, he'd been content to watch the city life around him once the darkness had made reading the book that he'd brought with him impossible. Even so, it was cool, and Kurt was tired, and there was only so much to contemplate before meditation steeped into boredom. Just when he was feeling that particular unhappy edge creeping in, Blaine emerged from their apartment, looking a little worn from the day's events but still smiling.

Kurt had held up the edge of his blanket in wordless invitation, and Blaine had maneuvered himself until he could rest back against Kurt's chest and look up at the stars with him, their quiet breathing the only immediate sound in the silence.

Kurt didn't know the exact moment that Blaine dozed off, but he did notice between one breath and the next that Blaine's eyes were closed and his head had listed slightly to one side, cheek cushioned against Kurt's chest. Loathe to wake him, Kurt cushioned his own arms more comfortably across Blaine's chest and let the breeze wash over him, refusing to give up on the moment too quickly. He knew that autumn would come soon enough and that every venture outside would require a sweater or a scarf; he wasn't inclined to hasten the process, enjoying the summer night's company too much.

Back in Ohio, there were fireflies and ripened grass to tease his senses, one flickering in and out of existence periodically, the other wafting over him in a steady but subtle undertone. In New York, the air had a different quality, and the city itself seemed somehow both huge and unknowable – filled as it was with dozens and dozens and dozens of people that he would never and could never possibly know on an intimate basis, all going about their lives in the same matter-of-fact way that he was – but also steady and comfortably close, as warm as Blaine's weight was in the cradle of his arms.

It would not care if he broke against it, ground into dust by the many vicious components that made up its whole, but it would not bar him from opportunity, either. He was free to carve out his own niche, to make his own path, to forge his own destiny.

With Blaine at his side and still a full month of summer relaxation to look forward to, he was confident that he could manage just fine.

And as the air cooled he finally nudged Blaine awake and guided them both back inside, abandoning his hard outdoor summer nest for the thoroughly gratifying softness of their own bed.

Stasis might be desirable because it was comfortable, but Kurt still preferred the uncertain quality of a sleep, clingy fiancé who would love him regardless of the season. He could learn to live with the other changes – indeed, embrace them and their merits, and weather them and their challenges – as long as he had constants.

While summer itself might not be one of him – nor, indeed, the measure of freedom that it granted – his relationship with Blaine would be, and that was enough for his eyes to slip shut and his arms to curl around Blaine's waist and sleep to carry him away at last.


End file.
